


Safe and Sound

by orphan_account



Category: Free!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Anonymity, Canon Universe, Eventual Fluff, Eventual Romance, Future AU, Light Angst, M/M, again bc i seem to like that concept very much, frequent makoharu and souharu friendship mentions, haru is a pastry chef and is retired from the world of professional swimming, sousuke is a masked man
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-02-08
Updated: 2015-02-25
Packaged: 2018-03-11 04:47:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,240
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3314537
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Haruka didn’t care much about music. Not that he disliked it, but it had never called out to him or piqued his interest the way water or mackerel had. It was just there. Of course, he’d gone through phases of listening to various types of music just to satisfy his curiosity, but he had never followed one particular singer or band before. </p><p>Not until he hears an upcoming song cover artist on the radio.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> The nerve of me, right? Posting another fic when I have one that's unfinished still... x'D This fic is very spontaneous and light, because I'm writing from really recent experience. Anyway, more souharus for the soul! Title of the fic is from Capital Cities' song. Again, unbeta'd so please tell me if you see typos/grammatical murder? :) I own nothing... just the plot.

Haruka didn’t care much about music.  


Not that he disliked it, but it had never called out to him or piqued his interest the way water or mackerel had. It was just there. Of course, he’d gone through phases of listening to various types of music just to satisfy his curiosity, but he had never followed one particular singer or band before. Whatever the radio played, he could deal with it, and if he wasn’t feeling the melody, then it was an opportunity to bring out his Ocean Waves Soundtrack Volumes One and Two and plug it in.  


Nagisa once told him he wasn’t living life to the fullest, and all his friends except for Makoto had agreed. Makoto placated them by saying that _maybe Haru-chan hasn’t found the right genre or artist for him yet, so why don’t we cut him some slack?_  


Rin had snickered out loud then, because Haruka was in his early twenties, fresh off a magnificent swimming career and now with a pastry establishment with him as head baker under his belt. And yet, no singer could capture his attention and prompt him to take interest.  


The subject died when Rei told them all about his upcoming graduation from his masters, and it wasn’t brought up again. Haruka didn’t think much about it either, and that was nearly half a year ago.  


Today was different. Today brought back that particular conversation when Haruka was icing his cinnamon rolls, and the radio had started their segment on song covers. It wasn’t until the song ended that he noticed he’d stopped working, head tilted to the direction of the music appliance by the counter.  


He couldn’t remember the title of the song, but he was sure that it was an English one that topped the charts a little over two months ago. He’d heard several covers of the song before, but this one had to be the best so far.  


The song itself was nice, and the voice singing it even more so. It was decidedly baritone borderline tenor, and it _flowed_. Haruka didn’t hear voices like that often. The singer made it seem like this song was made for him to sing, and he did it more justice than the original artist. It made Haruka feel as if he was experiencing an epiphany, like the voice was carving a rhythmic path and inviting him to immerse himself in it.  


The blue-eyed man blinked and walked over to the radio, determined to know the identity of this singer. Unfortunately, it seemed that he had missed the artist’s introduction when the speakers blared, “-upcoming cover artist who’s taking the internet by storm! What’s more astonishing is that he completely came out of nowhere! If you want to check out more of his covers, you can always google him! Now up next is the all-time favorite band Karasuno, with their rendition of-”  


Disappointed, Haruka turned the radio off immediately, his lips quirking downward as he made his way back to the kitchen; So much for investing himself in music. He shook his head and got back to work, the song echoing in his mind as his hands worked their magic.  


* * *

 

As luck would have it, the radio station started to play more and more of the cover artist’s songs every day. Haruka finally came to know of the man’s name, or stage name in this case, because there is no way a man would actually be named ‘Climax’. He had snorted when he first found out, but the pseudonym made a whole lot of sense once he started to sing.  


He was amazing, and he was consistent. Radio DJs would often comment on how he was a game changer and setting standards higher for all amateur artists out there.  


Haruka couldn’t believe it himself. If before he would’ve readily admitted to prefer preparing pastries in silence in the early morning, now his fingers move out of their own accord and make a habit of turning the radio on the moment he enters his shop before he does anything else.  


Climax’s voice was becoming more of a motivation to him, as opposed to others’ whose voices Haruka would classify as distractions. It was a welcome source of enthusiasm for him, who, ever since he started listening to Climax, was more productive and often felt livelier as he worked. Before he knew it, he’d been listening to the cover artist for nearly a month now, never missing a segment, even during weekends and day offs at home.  


As expected, Makoto was the first to notice about his new interest.  


It was a cold October Saturday; one that was spent in his best friend’s flat because he’d wanted company. Makoto smiled excitedly at the prospect of him having finally _finally found_ music that could satisfy him, and Haruka really couldn’t say anything to that.  


It was the truth. He had a playlist in his phone, two mix CDs that he downloaded himself, and he was subscribed to Climax’s YouTube channel as well. He was becoming a fan, a casual one at that, but a fan nonetheless.  


“To think you’d be a fan of some obscure cover artist who does pop and alternative though, Haru-chan… I thought for sure you’d like someone mellower,” Makoto said one Saturday night, when Haruka had come clean to him as to why he’d been feeling better lately.  


“He sings nice. And he has good taste in songs, not that I’d know, but… he’s okay. I like his voice.”  


“Well, how old is he? What does he look like? Does he have original songs?” Makoto inquired, sincere appreciation glimmering in his eyes as he bounced on his seat.  


Haruka had to press his hands down his best friend’s shoulders to get the latter to calm down. “There really isn’t much personal information about him on the internet. He’s just Climax. Nobody even knows what he looks like because when he performs in his videos, he’s always wearing a black mask that covers half his face. The only thing really exposed is his mouth when he sings. His fan girls seem to find the mysterious aura charming, so they never question him about it.”  


“So you find him charming?”  


“I’m not a girl, Makoto.”  


"You didn't answer the question!"  


The green-eyed man merely waggled his eyebrows and looked at him expectantly. Haruka did nothing but stare incredulously at him, as he continued, “Anyway, there was a rumor that he was actually an athlete, but quit because of personal reasons. But they may be only saying that because he has the body of one.”  


Haruka then fished out his phone from his pocket and opened the YouTube application, scrolling over to his list of Favorites, most of which were Climax’s videos. He opened the most recent one with the cover artist clad in a black v-neck sweatshirt, a red Nike cap and the aforementioned black mask. He played the video for Makoto, who looked engrossed as the man on the screen introduced himself and started singing a Maroon 5 song.  


“You’re right. He has impressive muscles! And he has a nice grin even though you can barely see it,” Makoto commented, and a few seconds later just as the chorus started, “He does sound great!”  


Haruka had to suppress the smile that was threatening to erupt on his features at that tiny comment. He cleared his throat instead, and the both of them sat quietly as the song played on.  


They ended up listening to the entire playlist on Climax’s channel that night.  


* * *

 

In the weeks that followed, Haruka enjoyed the unbroken routine of baking and listening to music to the fullest. With Climax’s popularity skyrocketing, the radio not only played his songs once a day, but they had dedicated an entire half hour of air time to broadcast the cover artist’s most requested songs.  


More than once, Haruka caught himself mouthing the lyrics or humming to himself in his kitchen. Indeed, it was always a great way to start the day, listening to that impeccable voice belt out soulful tunes. His business had flourished too, and he had hired a few assistants that would help him out in running the pastry shop, giving him more free time than before.  


Life was looking really good for him right now.  


One bleary Thursday, when his assistants had the day off because Thursdays were the least bustling, he overheard some patrons of his shop who were giggling near the counter. These girls originally frequented his establishment because of his red velvet cupcakes, but what cemented their loyalty to the business were Climax’s songs being played recurrently. They were fans, and Haruka had taken to giving them the occasional discount because they shared his music taste.  


While he was cleaning out the shelves of marine paraphernalia near the register, Haruka had managed to take bits and pieces from the girls’ conversation, and couldn’t fathom the gist of it.  


Apparently, Climax had been scouted by a small talent agency, and was to have his first live performance at the Shibuya O-Crest, a well-known music venue where Japanese musicians and bands play to an audience of a selected two hundred.  


“I heard from Yamada that they’re going to hold an online raffle in two days’ time! And they’re going to close it once they fill the ten thousand quotas.”  


“Man, two hundred out of ten thousand though? It’s going to be difficult to win a ticket! How much is one raffle entry?”  


“Just one thousand yen! I can buy at least three if I skip out on afternoon snacks tomorrow…”  


* * *

 

On Saturday, Haruka found himself purchasing ten entries without telling anyone about it, not even Makoto.  


Before he logged onto the web page, he told himself three entries would be fine. He wasn’t that much of a devoted fan anyway. If he got picked, then it would be great to see Climax in person, but if he didn’t, then it was also okay. He’d never stop listening to him anyway.  


Once the raffle opened, Haruka bought three and closed the page. Minutes later, having lost his initial conviction, he bought three more, then two more, then one last one, and then one _very_ last one and okay there went the money he had been saving to buy the special edition hot springs photobook that would be coming out soon. He had never entered a raffle before in his life, but the stakes for this one was so high that he couldn’t stop thinking about it.  


In the end, he had ten entries, and he was thankful that the site closed down when he was second guessing himself if he wanted to buy one more, perhaps two, just to be sure. It was simple impulsiveness that pushed him to do it, like the way his clothes would fly off of him in alarming speeds whenever there was a large enough body of water near him.  


After the site gathered all entries, it announced that the results of the raffle were to be posted online two weeks from the start of the promotion.  


In that time frame, Haruka let himself be engulfed in work and responsibility, focusing on other things to try and mute the niggling necessity to see Climax live at the back of his mind. There was no use worrying over it. All he could do know was go through the same motions and pray that Lady Luck would favor him this time around. He forced himself to work harder, make more orders in advance, come up with new products and marketing strategies. It took a lot of his time and he came home almost always too tired, but his tactic worked well enough, and it wasn’t until the day before of the announcement did he remember that he had entries.  


He was at Makoto’s again, and the both of them were lounging on the couch, watching some romantic comedy that was too cheesy for his tastes. Haruka had completely forgotten about the raffle and was mentally tallying pre-orders for his lemon meringue cakes when Makoto brought the issue up, asking if he had heard about Climax’s upcoming live stage because even national television was gearing up for it. It wasn’t every day a simple masked cover artist would go viral all over the country.  


Haruka hesitated a bit before admitting, “I bought ten raffle entries.” He kept his gaze on the television, feigning nonchalance, but his best friend obviously knew better.  


Makoto laughed good-naturedly and patted him on the back for a job well done. “It’s amazing how Climax-san can get you to spend ten thousand yen on him when you won’t even treat me to ice cream!” he teased.  


“I couldn’t help it,” Haruka replied, and he sighed when Makoto gave him his well wishes.  


“If your name gets picked twice, can I have the other ticket?”  


“I doubt I’ll get picked once at all.”  


“Oh Haru-”  


“What?”  


The larger man gave one last chuckle before turning his attention back to the movie where the lead actor was over reacting about some schedule mishap. “It’s nice to see this new side of you.”  


“Well, let’s hope this side of me is lucky enough.” Haruka deadpans, his mind racing. Oh well, those cakes don't need baking for at least two more months anyway.

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Still unbeta'd! I own nothing but the plot c:

Haruka woke up the following morning with Makoto shaking him viciously and looking cheery as ever. He saw the open laptop in his periphery, a list of names posted on the screen. Highlighted on the bottom right corner of the page was _#198: Nanase Haruka_.  
  


He barely even made it.  
  


But he did.  
  


He felt numb at first, face schooled in a poker expression, but his heart thundered in his rib cage the same way it would when he was in a thrilling swimming match. “Makoto!” he croaked out when Makoto finally stopped throttling him, wrenching himself from the larger man’s hold as he got off the bed and hobbled over to the desk.  
  


He couldn’t help but trace his pointer finger over the screen just to make sure he wasn’t seeing things.  
  


“It was posted just five minutes ago, Haru-chan! Sorry for waking you up so roughly, I got excited for you and-”  
  


“It’s fine, Makoto.” Haruka turned to him and heaved a sigh, holding the back of his hand up to cover his lips. They were twitching at the corners again.  
  


Makoto let out an airy chuckle as he walked over to his friend and gave him a light hug. “It’s great that you’ll get to meet him so soon! I already have water in the bath for you, so come out for breakfast after ‘kay? Don’t stay too long in the water!”  
  


It was at times like these that Haruka was eternally grateful for his best friend’s motherly tendencies, and he muttered an affirmation before the taller man left the room. While stretching for a bit, he checked out the list to see if the patrons from his shop were picked. It was disappointing, but he didn’t see their names on the roster and for that, he made a mental note to prepare extra red velvet pastries later that day.  
  


He went to the bath right after, welcoming the lukewarm comfort that the water offered as he submerged himself in the tub. Haruka took his time scrubbing himself, humming one of Climax’ songs as he shampooed his hair and soaped his body.  
  


It was still kind of surreal, to know that he’ll be witnessing the singer in a week’s time. He rarely got into the hype of things, but on the rare occasion that he did, he tended to give extreme dedication, no matter how weird that may seem. He was so sure that his interest for Climax was something minor, that it would pass given some time.  
  


Now, he knew it wasn’t so. He didn’t feel this genuinely happy often, and so he drew his legs close to him and buried a smile in his arms as he folded them atop his knees. He exhaled and thanked whoever deity was responsible for granting him such good luck.  
  


One week. Just seven days to wait before he gets to hear that heavenly voice in person.  
  


* * *

 

“Wake up, lazy ass! The sun is up, let’s go for a jog!”  
  


Cold fingers prodded his cheeks, then mercilessly yanked away the comforter from his body, exposing him to the sunlight filtering from the blinds on the window. He automatically shielded his eyes from the bright light, groaning into his pillow and flipping his assailant the finger.  
  


“Oh come on, you never spend time with me anymore!”  
  


“Ugh, I bet it’s not even seven yet,” came the muffled answer.  
  


“Mm, it’s about five past six-”  
  


“God damn it.”  
  


That prompted a hard smack on his thighs, and Sousuke yelped at the sharp, frigid contact, swiftly turning around so he can land a hit. Rin grinned at him and dodged easily, stepping back and jutting out a hip. “Easy there, tiger,” he teased, “Now wasn’t getting up easy?”  
  


Sousuke stared at his best friend heatedly, but found that he really couldn’t get angry at him. He sighed, rubbing at the corners of his eyes with the heels of his hands. “I want to sleep more,” he bit out.  
  


He’d been up late talking to the organizers and finalizing details for his upcoming event, and even after the long arduous Skype calls, he couldn’t get much sleep right after too. Both excitement and anxiety coursed through his veins and kept him up until the wee hours of the morning, and it wasn’t until he had resorted to counting sharks to himself that he finally drifted off to slumber.  
  


“You always want to sleep more,” Rin retorted, “But at least the plans are solid now, aren’t they? Hm, come to think of it, weren’t the results for the ticketing raffle-”  
  


“They’re posting it today at nine. I left that one to the agency. I’ll check it out when we get back from our run.” Sousuke yawned as he finally got out of bed and changed into his running attire. He went to the bathroom to wash his face and brush his teeth, and once he was done with his business, he toed on his rubber shoes and grabbed a couple of water bottles and granola bars from the kitchen.  
  


He tossed one of each to Rin, and they made their way out of the apartment, immediately starting up on a light jog along their usual route.  
  


They raced for a while, going past the quiet roads of the residential area and then into the bustling market district. Their path led them to a hill overlooking the skyscrapers in the city, and it was there that they took a water break, plopping down on one of the wooden benches stationed at the very top.  
  


Rin sneaked a glance at his companion as the other downed his water bottle. Sousuke was looking a little stressed lately, but it didn’t seem like he was complaining about it. Of course he wouldn’t, after all, what good would complaining about a national debut to the Japanese entertainment industry do? If anything, Sousuke must feel extremely relieved and proud of himself because of this development.  
  


They knew about the usual route that aspiring singers and artists go through in order to garner fame. Auditioning for entertainment companies and training at early ages, and even then, it didn’t guarantee a promise to stardom. And yet Sousuke managed to captivate the nation with simple covers and no prior training whatsoever. It was a miracle, and Rin thought his best friend deserved nothing less, especially after going through harsh problems at such a young age.  
  


His gaze transferred to Sousuke’s shoulder, and he clicked his tongue.  
  


“You look like you want to eat me up, and I don’t mean the good kind,” Sousuke said, cutting off the redhead’s train of thought.  
  


“My leg just cramped a bit,” Rin huffed and he stretched his legs out as he sank down on the bench. “It’s been a while since we ran like this.”  
  


“It’s been two days.”  
  


“That’s two days too long!”  
  


Sousuke grinned at him as he too stretched. “You’re such a drama queen.”  
  


They spent another five minutes lounging around before resuming their run, going back the way they came. Instead of passing through the marketplace though, they passed by more of the office buildings because it offered a longer route back to the residential area.  
  


When they got back, it was already half past nine. Sousuke called dibs on the shower first, and Rin volunteered to open Sousuke’s e-mail so they could both see the winners from the raffle. For all they know, some familiar people could be Sousuke’s fans. Rin already knew that some of his colleagues at the swimming center were into Climax. Maybe they’d even see people from Iwatobi!  
  


He told Sousuke this before the latter got into the bathroom, but Sousuke merely dismissed him. “People are going to come from all over Japan. Don’t be stupid.”  
  


Rin rolled his eyes. “I was just saying it could be a possibility.” He busied himself with grabbing a change of clothes from his room, because unlike a certain teal-eyed Dorito, he didn’t want to walk down the hall dripping water everywhere because he was too lazy to grab some clothes beforehand.  
  


He exclaimed happily when the e-mail finally loaded, a list of two hundred names, their addresses, and the number of raffle entries they purchased typeset beside them. He started scanning the list, reading the names one by one. There were some individuals who bought twenty or more entries, and some who were so lucky to get picked even though they only bought one. Sousuke was right about the entries coming from all over Japan too.  
  


Rin laughed when he saw the name of his high school teacher, along with the number five beside it. “Sousuke, holy shit, remember Yamato-sensei from Samezuka?”  
  


“Yeah, Physics right? Hate that guy… he used to call me all the time to answer stuff on the board!” Sousuke called out from the bathroom. Then a groan sounded. “Oh god, don’t tell me-”  
  


“He’s in the list! Oh man, this is gold! He even bought five entries!”  
  


Rin slapped his knee as he heard his roommate curse loudly in the shower. He wiped a tear from his eye and clutched his stomach as he continued scrolling down, keen on finding more familiar names. Unfortunately, there weren’t any more at the middle of the list, and as he neared the bottom half, he was glad to see that at least one colleague of his got into the raffle.  
  


“Ichinomiya-san got in! You met her once from the center, she was the receptionist! She bought thirty entries!” the redhead hollered.  
  


He scrolled even faster when he got to the bottom half of the list, mostly because the people listed were complete strangers now, and weren’t from Tokyo or Iwatobi or any other place that’s relevant to him. He gave one last scroll when he hit the last part, and the last five names glared at him from the screen.  
  


 _#196 – Tomoda Yuriko – 76 XX XXXX XX Hokkaido – 25_  
#197 – Shibasaki Ren – 147 XXX XXXX-XXXX Osaka – 5  
#198 – Nanase Haruka – 56 XXXXXXX-XXX XX Tokyo – 10  
#199 – Kirishima Kaoru – 34A XXXXXX XXXX XXXXX Miyagi – 1  
#200 – Nanahoshi Sakuya – 01 XX-XXX XXXXX XXX Akita – 3  
  


Rin gaped, zeroing on a name he never expected to find on the list.  
  


And then he laughed so hard until he choked and fell off the chair.  
  


* * *

 

Sousuke just finished wrapping the towel around his waist when he heard a loud thud coming from the living room, followed by strange wheezing noises. Alarmed, he bolted out of the bathroom and found Rin coughing and snickering on the floor, beating his chest as tried to sit up but failed to do so every time.  
  


“What the hell, Rin?!”  
  


“Oh my god, Sousuke…! Sousuke, I can’t-!” Rin doubled over in laughter again, and Sousuke had to manhandle him to the couch and pat his back roughly so he could breathe properly again. “Check the third to the last name,” Rin said weakly when he finally got his breath back.  
  


Sousuke cocked an eyebrow at him, wondering what caused that kind of reaction. He then faced the screen in front of him and traced down the names to number one hundred ninety-eight, and he paled. “Nanase…” he read out silently, and from behind him, Rin had started laughing to himself again.  
  


“That’s his address, alright, I go there so many times to bother him, I have the location ingrained in my head!” the redhead offered.  
  


“What the fuck. What the actual flying fuck. Nanase bought ten entries.”  
  


Rin laughed even harder. “Oh man, imagine the look on his face when he finds out who you actually are!”  
  


Sousuke scowled, but then the idea sounded appealing. Catch Nanase off guard? Like hell he’d pass up on that. But the fact that Nanase was a fan of his strangely made him feel warm inside.  
  


He looked at the name again, and felt himself lightening up. Rin looked at him with a twinkle in his eye. “What’s on your mind, Sousuke?”  
  


“Nothing.” But the biggest shit-eating grin erupted on his face just then.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promise the next part will have lots of souharus. I just needed to lay this down for this chapter. c: Feedback is appreciated! See you next time!

**Author's Note:**

> I'll update this quickly bc I have two parts written ahead. Thanks for reading! 
> 
> xoxo  
> Nari


End file.
